One People, One Planet, HON!

Corporate Surprise

2003, Political Commentary Designed Originally for the Hieronimus & Co. Journal, pen and ink, 22¼” x19”

“Corporate Surprise” is the first in a series of political commentary designs Hieronimus created in 2002-03, as hisfrustration with the Bush Administration’s backward-trending goals grew to new heights. Hieronimus is as well known for his outspoken opinions as he is for his artwork, and he takes every opportunity to encourage other artists to also speak out in their artwork, as art and symbols have the power to move entire communities. The purpose of each and every one of us is to use our skills to change the world for the better, even if it’s just in our own back yards.

This design shows how the temple of corporate-supported media will be washed away by impending Earth Changes, no matter how much they continue to deny or downplay their danger. With their very foundations being greed, profit, and power, it is no surprise that the corporations in control of the American media and politics will deny as long as possible any reports that human consumption habits are contributing to coming calamities. When earthquakes, tidal waves, and hurricanes destroy our temples of money worship, the really surprised ones will be those who believed the corporate media’s false reassurances without realizing their main objective was to entertain and hypnotize and maintain the status quo. That’s the real “Corporate Surprise.”

The top of the temple is dominated by a globe symbol wearing Mickey Mouse ears to show that mind-control of the masses through the entertainment industry is the black cancer that keeps humanity from thinking independently. The four pillars of the temple are filled with the logos of some of the biggest polluters in America: GM for General Motors (contained within a TV monitor), GTE, Westinghouse, and worst of all, Exxon who still maintains to the tune of tens of millions of dollars of think-tank funding and propaganda that global warming is a hoax, and a natural cycle which cannot be affected by changes in humanity’s energy use. Ringing the top of the temple are the media giants who more often than not collaborate with their corporate giant owners, and have waited far too long to take any positive action.

The media of record has also stalled for years in reporting the dangers of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and their potentially devastating effects on our planet. The cavalier attitude of mainstream scientists, endorsed and widely spread by Carl Sagan, tended to dismiss concerns about potential damage to the Earth from “rocks from space,” encouraging us instead to laugh at those primitive cultures who feared meteors as portents of doom. Weren’t they silly, asked Sagan? Afraid of harmless, dirty iceballs hurtling through space? With new archeological evidence uncovered since Sagan’s death, however, it seems quite plausible that our ancient ancestors feared these “rocks from space” because of eyewitness accounts and racial memories of the cyclical damage caused by these objects striking Earth. Cyclical NEO impacts were probably responsible for ending the Bronze Age and many great civilizations beforehand. When Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 slammed into the planet Jupiter in 1994, the astronomical community was shocked to watch such cataclysmic devastation so close to home. A similar impact on planet Earth would change civilization even beyond Hollywood’s worst nightmare. Many top scientists are pressing for contingency plans for such a scenario. As we consider the cyclic nature of history, and the rise and fall of ancient civilizations completely wiped from this planet, we must face the possibility that the time is due for another series of impacts on our planet in the immediate future. Hieronimus likes to remind listeners to his radio program that when faced with the concepts of earth changes, the best thing to do is to put your house in order. The more prepared you are, the more empowered you will be. The more empowered you are, the less in fear you will live.

Bob and Zoh Hieronimus have been advising their listeners for over 40 years to store food and water, and to pre-plan an escape route for all members of your family from your home, workplace, and school. One of the great places to start for this kind of practical information is with the Red Cross. But way beyond preparing your family and home for natural disasters, you also need to prepare yourself spiritually and emotionally. They recommend a succinct list from New Heaven New Earth (www.nhne.org), which includes: Spend time daily praying and meditating; Learn how to receive guidance from within; Strengthen your belief that spiritual forces regularly intercede in the affairs of men and women (especially in times of great need); Make as many good friends as you can; Help others, Lighten their loads and make them happy; Deal with your fears about death and dying; Remember that change, which occasionally includes pain, is what life is all about -- and relax; Study the changes that other times, places and people have passed through -- and your reactions to those changes; Keep open, inquisitive minds, stay informed and don't allow new things to send you off the deep end; Enjoy life and live each day as if it were your last; Keep your bodies strong and healthy; Be physically prepared.